Trying to figure out how judges will rule is a fool’s errand, but that has not stopped prognosticators from wondering what Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan will do in the showdown between Tom Brady and the N.F.L.
Last month, the league asked the court to certify its decision to uphold Brady’s four-game suspension for his role in an alleged scheme to deflate game footballs. In two hearings this month, Berman asked sharper questions of the league’s lawyers, prompting speculation that Brady might get his suspension overturned in time for the start of the season.